Saint Patrick

There is probably no instance in the world of a saint and a country being linked so closely as Saint Patrick and Ireland. When he began his mission to that Celtic nation in the 5th century, it was almost entirely pagan, with spiritual matters firmly in the hands of the Druid. By the time he died, some decades later, a significant portion of its large and dispersed population was Christian. And the Catholic faith has burned strongly in Ireland ever since.

For so popular a saint, frustratingly little is known for sure about Patrick. He was a man of action rather than of the pen and the two short pieces of his writing that survive are, though lively and readable, quite inadequate as autobiographical material.

Fortunately, the Irish have been particularly gifted in handing down their history by word of mouth for thousands of years, and so there is a lively and extensive body of tradition linked with the man. Equally important, there has been no lack of scholars to sift this tradition for what is sound in it.

Devotion to Saint Patrick has of course accompanied the Irish in their vast emigrations, and the English speaking world is rich with churches bearing his name. Among the most magnificent surely, is our own Cathedral of Saint Patrick. Here the saint is represented with appropriate attention. His statue anchors the north end of the front of the Sanctuary. He also appears in a small statue set into the front doors of the Cathedral. Most striking of all is the immense window above the south transept door consisting of panels depicting various key moments linked, in legend or in fact with Patrick's life. Beginning in the lower left corner and reading the scenes upwards in groups of three, these are: his baptism; his capture; an angel revealing his vocation; his preaching the gospel aboard a ship, his being sold in Ireland; being set free; being made a cleric by Saint Martin of Tours; pursuing his studies at Lerins; being ordained a priest; setting out for Rome; receiving the Pope Saint Celestine l's blessing; being consecrated a bishop; visiting Saint Germain d' Auxerre; his first conversions in Ireland; giving Communion to King Laoghaire's daughters; raising a person from the dead; his own death; and angels singing his funeral hymn.